Mind-blowing flavors at new Pearl restaurants

One is available now; the other will have to wait a couple more months.

The bite of pure happiness already available is at The Granary. It’s called “barbecue butter” and it’s a mixture of butter with the rendered fat from smoked brisket. That butter accompanies Texas toast that’s made from house-baked buttermilk bread. It’s a flavor that comforts and soars at the same time.

The other will be the signature dish at Arcade Midtown Kitchen, the soon-to-open project from chef/owner Jesse Perez. It’s called a lobster soft taco, and it, too, is playfully brilliant. Instead of a tortilla, an herbed crêpe that has a touch of masa holds the lobster pieces. Then that’s topped with a poblano cream sauce, roasted corn kernels, diced tomato and microgreens.

Followers of Perez’ career may recognize this as a nod to his background doing Southwestern cuisine at Francesca’s at Sunset, where he built a following years ago.

These two memorable dishes were part of a media tour Thursday night at the Pearl Brewery that also included a tasting stop at the Boiler House and a Peruvian ceviche demonstration from chef/instructor Elizabeth Johnson at the Culinary Institute of America (along with a pisco sour).